Nothing screams vacation like a day in the sun, and nothing like a day in the sun makes you want to jump in a cool, refreshing pool! Don’t miss a minute of memory-making splashing that any of Orlando’s fantastic water parks have to offer.
Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon® Water Park
If you truly want to take in all that Walt Disney World® has to offer, a drip to Typhoon Lagoon should definitely be on your agenda. This 56-acre water park offers hours of water-filled fun, as well as other “dry land” attractions. Enjoy a variety of giant water slides and inner tube rides sure to delight the whole gang. The Humunga Kowabunga is a trio of enclosed slides that riders can reach up to 30 miles per hour (48 km/hour) while being hurled through a series of caves. Storm Slides whisk guests through geysers and waterfalls before plunging into a cool pool after a 36-foot drop. Gangplank Falls and Keel Haul Falls take riders down rapids through special water effects on giant inner tubes. You can even snorkel and swim with sharks at the Shark Reef! If all the slides and rides have you ready for a nap, enjoy a calm, relaxing ride on Castaway Cay, a nearly mile long lazy river ride that is the perfect way to end your Typhoon Lagoon water park trip.
Fun in the Sun Tip: If you plan to spend all day at the water park (which you probably should and will), arrive early and get a camp of lounge chairs together, preferably in a spot that will receive shade at some point in the day. The sun is fun, but nobody wants to go home looking like a lobster.
1145 Buena Vista Dr, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
disneyworld.disney.go.com/destinations/typhoon-lagoon
Disney’s Blizzard Beach® Water Park
Blizzard Beach is Disney’s newest water park, and they pulled out all the stops to ensure it doesn’t disappoint. This mountain ski-chalet themed park is chock full of thrill rides to keep you sliding all day long. Check out Summit Plummet and Slush Gusher, two speed slides sure to get your heart racing. And don’t miss the Downhill Double Dipper and Runoff Rapids for some inner tube racing fun. Ski Patrol Training is the perfect area for pre-teens and kids that aren’t tall enough to ride some of the larger rides. This obstacle-centered area is filled with rope-walks, floating icebergs, smaller slides and other obstacles to tackle and enjoy the splash.
Fun in the Sun Tip: Don’t miss the enclosed slide at Runoff Rapids. It’s been called the Space Mountain of water rides.
1534 Blizzard Beach Dr, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
disneyworld.disney.go.com/destinations/blizzard-beach
Aquatica® (by SeaWorld® Waterparks)
If your trip to Orlando includes a visit to SeaWorld®, don’t miss out on the park’s exciting water park feature, Aquatica. This one-of-a-kind park lets guests zip through an actual dolphin habitat inside an enclosed tube waterslide at the Dolphin Plunge. The Walhalla Wave will send you and your family in a giant tube down the twists and turns of a six-story maze. Opening May 9, 2014 is Ihu’s Breakaway Falls, the tallest multi-drop slide of its kind in Orlando. This ride offers an element of surprise; you and two friends will race each other down a series of enclosed, twisting tubes, but you don’t know which friend’s floor will drop first to begin the ride!
Fun in the Sun Tip: Don’t waste time fumbling for cash inside the park, and take advantage of the park’s Discovery Dollar program. These waterproof wristbands can be “loaded” with an amount of money you determine, and then scanned at restaurants or snack kiosks to pay for items.
5800 Water Play Way, Orlando, FL 32821
aquaticabyseaworld.com/en/orlando
Wet ‘n Wild® Orlando
This park is a favorite amongst Florida locals, and features a 17,000 ft. wave pool and tons of inner tube rides. You can also try wakeboarding or kneeboarding on a cable-towed attraction on a half-mile lake. Wet ‘n Wild also features Blastaway Beach, a huge family water play area filled with jets, water cannons and a giant water bucket dump to get the whole family soaked.
Fun in the Sun Tip: If you and your family like rides that you can enjoy together, Wet ‘n Wild is the place for you. It has many multi-person inner tube rides that the whole family can enjoy!
6200 International Dr, Orlando, FL 32819
www.wetnwildorlando.com
Legoland® Water Park
Legoland® Water Park may be one of the most creative water parks Orlando has to offer. If you’re a lazy river lover, grab the family and you can design and build your own river craft before taking a tranquil voyage down the 1000-ft. ride. The park also offers a toddler-friendly water play area for the littlest visitors in your party, and they can enjoy shorter slides and larger-than-life Duplo characters. If you have competitive types in your family, send them down the Twin Chaser slides (enclosed), or choose one of the three, 60-ft. Splash Out slides – the tallest slides in the park!
Fun in the Sun Tip: For a truly red-carpet experience, check out the VIP package. This (pricey) option gives you park admission (for both Legoland and the water park) and parking pass, your own private beach cabana, complimentary towels and lockers, and a souvenir photo.
1 Legoland Way, Winter Haven, FL 33884
florida.legoland.com/legoland-water-park
Have you ever been to one of these fantastic Orlando water parks? Do you have some tips for fellow water park maniacs? Share the love in the comments below.
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